LAKE ELSINORE: Neighborhood copes with furry intruders

Coyotes have preyed on pet cats, residents say

Nick and Evelyn Diment were awakened abruptly in their north
Lake Elsinore home recently by the screams of a neighborhood cat on
their patio just beyond their bedroom door.

"When we went out in the morning, there was a whole mess of fur
and there were drag marks on the concrete," Nick Diment said.

There is no doubt in their minds that a coyote had jumped the
patio fence and made off with a little supper. The feline was one
of a spate of cats that have been captured by prowling coyotes, say
neighbors who live around Highlands Road near Machado Street and in
an adjacent tract where streets are named after presidents.

"Anyone's that got small animals ---- they're on the menu,
unfortunately," said Diment, whose home is on Adams Street near
Jefferson.

Highlands Road resident Keli Wilcher said her family's cat was
among six that she knows of that have been lost to coyotes.

Recent coyote sightings on the neighborhood's streets and the
attacks on pets prompted Wilcher to contact the city, the local
animal control service and the state Department of Fish &
Game.

"I don't feel comfortable walking our kids around in the dark
anymore when it cools off," she said.

Urban Coyotes

Animal Control Supervisor Monique Middleton of Animal Friends of
the Valleys said Fish & Game representatives declined to
intervene, saying they wouldn't get involved unless humans were
directly threatened. They did, however, provide some advice about
how to discourage the animals, and that does not include shooting
at them. It is illegal to fire guns in the city.

Middleton said residents should not leave young children
unattended, should keep their cats and small dogs indoors from dusk
until dawn, avoid leaving pet food outside, and prevent access to
trash.

Another tip is to attach mylar balloons to fences because the
movement and gleam of the material scares them off, she said.

Also, when coyotes are sighted, residents should make as much as
noise as possible to frighten them away.

"If they see coyotes in the area they should bang pots and pans
together because they don't like that clanging metal noise,"
Middleton said.

She said that "urban coyotes," those that roam around
neighborhoods, have lost their fear of being among humans.

"We have to make them fear again," she said. "These people need
to scare them away."

The incidents and advice from authorities led Wilcher to print
up "Coyote Warning" leaflets with tips on protecting children and
pets. She distributed the fliers to households in the area.

"I've lived here my whole life, almost 25 years," she said.
"We've never seen a problem like this ever. It's almost like
they've invaded our neighborhood."

Those neighborhoods near Lakeside High School north of the lake
are prone to coyotes because there is mountainous forest land to
the west and north and brush-covered areas by the lake to the
south. The neighborhoods along Highlands, Lake Vista Drive and Le
Harve Avenue are particularly vulnerable because there is a large
field between them and the high school.

"I lost my cat the first month I lived here," said Brandi Lyn
Roczey, who moved to a residence on Highlands in June.

"One of the neighbors here saw a coyote dragging off her cat and
boom ---- dead," said Highlands resident Lance Lawson. "I have seen
one come through here and head over to that field. You can hear
them all the time."

There is an open-space area that runs between the backyards of
homes on the east side of Highlands and Adams that provides access
to the coyotes from the field to the southwest.

"We have an easement here and those suckers go right up that,"
Diment said.

Game of chicken

Middleton said her officers responded to the reports by putting
a cage trap baited with Cornish game hens out in the field. It
hasn't worked so far, she said.

"There was no response at all," she said. "We had the trap set
for about two weeks and didn't catch a coyote. They're very timid
animals to anything new in their environment."

In her six years of experience with Animal Friends, she said the
officers have trapped only one coyote. She said situations like the
one the residents in north Lake Elsinore are having are common.

"We deal with this in every city, every month," she said. "It's
not something new for us. There's a large coyote population in the
city of Temecula.. We pretty much deal with them on a weekly basis.
When they were building Canyon Hills (in Lake Elsinore), we were
overrun with coyotes. .... We've created these massive buffets for
them."

She said she doubts the coyotes are a new phenomenon for the
north Lake Elsinore neighborhoods, but it's possible there might be
more activity if a female coyote had a litter and made a den near
the area.

"The houses are backed up to the forest and (the coyotes) are
always coming down to the lake," she said. "These guys can travel.
They can sometimes do five or six miles in a night. They can hide
in plain sight. They've learned to adapt to us."

Yet, Robert Buck, whose house sits at the turn onto Lake Vista
from Highlands, said this is the most coyotes he's seen and heard
about during the 10 years he's lived there.

"Nobody's had any problems with them (in the past)," he
said.

A concrete channel that runs parallel to Highlands provides an
additional conduit into the neighborhood.

"They're using that as an access," he said. "They can go all the
way down this whole block."

Buck said he does not personally have problems on his property
probably because of Taylor ---- the family's yellow Labrador.